The discrimination learning ability of Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds was compared by means of visual cues in a three-choice test with food as a reward. Quarter Horses learned significantly faster than Thoroughbreds, and learning progressed more rapidly for both breeds in a second discrimination task. Significant negative correlations were observed between age and rate of learning. Quarter Ho...

In the present study, the concentrations of serum amyloid A and surfactant protein D in sera were measured to evaluate them for identification of the clinical condition of horses with bacterial pneumonia. The study utilized 185 clinically healthy control thoroughbreds and 9 thoroughbreds for experimental infectious study with S. zooepidemicus. Blood samples were collected from the 185 healthy c...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of and compare the types of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMIs) sustained in Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses during racing at 3 Midwestern racetracks from 2000 to 2006. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS 139 Thoroughbred and 50 Quarter Horse racehorses euthanized because of CMIs. PROCEDURES Veterinary officials from 3 Midwestern racin...

The purpose of this study was to find out whether abilities to win races of different distances are different traits. Data included information on 14 665 starts of 1 646 Thoroughbreds, aged 2 to 9 years and on 10 862 starts of 1 145 Arab horses, aged 3 to 10 years. The data comprised seven racing distances for Thoroughbred horses, i.e. 1 000, 1 200, 1 300, 1 400, 1 600, 1 800, >1 800 m, and fiv...

Fetlock joint kinematics during galloping in 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old Thoroughbreds in race training were quantified to determine if differences due to age could account for the observation that 2-year old Thoroughbred racehorses incur a high number of injuries to the bones and soft tissues in the distal forelimbs during training and at the outset of racing. Twelve Thoroughbred racehorses wer...

Ligand-dependent nuclear receptor compressor-like (LCORL) encodes a transcription factor, and its polymorphisms are associated with measures of skeletal frame size and adult height in several species. Recently, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BIEC2-808543 located upstream of LCORL was identified as a genetic diagnostic marker associated with withers height in Thoroughbreds. In this stu...

The aim of the present study was to find possible relationships between physical exercise and oxidative stress in thoroughbreds during official races. For this purpose six healthy and trained thoroughbreds were used. Blood samples were collected from all horses at rest immediately after the race, and 30 and 180 min. after the race. The following parameters were assessed on obtained serum using ...

We previously isolated the commensal bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria from the Thoroughbred intestine and prepared the horse probiotics LacFi(TM), consisting of Lactobacillus ruminis KK14, L. equi KK 15, L. reuteri KK18, L. johnsonii KK21, and Bifidobacterium boum HU. Here, we found that the five LacFi(TM) constituent strains remarkably suppressed pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 product...

Aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships of exercise and tendon injury with Doppler flows appearing in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of young Thoroughbreds during training periods. The forelimb SDFTs of 24 one- to two-year-old Thoroughbreds clinically free of any orthopaedic disorders were evaluated using grey-scale (GS) and color Doppler (CD) images during two trainin...

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between the placental retention time (PRT) and the reproductive performance following mating at the foal heat in Thoroughbreds. For this purpose, we interviewed 292 farmers over a period of 3 years with questionnaires evaluating foaling, expulsion of placenta and reproductive performance at the foal heat in 1,432 mares. The obtained data wer...